# Auditory Circuits for Interpreting Vocal Communication Signals

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2020 · $315,106

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 To interpret the vocalizations used in communication, such as human speech, animals
and humans must perform a range of auditory tasks: the detection and localization of sounds,
the perception of pitch and timbre, and the parsing and categorization of the information bearing
sound features that is required for the interpretation of communication calls. Auditory
neuroscientists have obtained a relatively good model of how complex sounds are represented
in the primary auditory cortex primarily in terms of their spectro-temporal features. We also
know that a network of higher-level auditory and associative cortical areas is involved in
processing speech in humans and communication calls in animals. However, the neural circuits
and the corresponding non-linear transformations that occur between primary auditory cortical
areas and cortical regions that categorize communication sounds in terms of their meaning
remains unknown. We are developing the avian model system to bridge this gap. Songbirds
have a large repertoire of communication sounds that are used in distinct behavioral contexts.
By combining behavioral and neurophysiological experiments, we will investigate how calls are
categorized into call-types (semantics). We will also investigate the neural representation for
learned categories that correspond to different vocalizers (voice). Using state-of-the-art
computational approaches, we will decipher the sequence of non-linear processing steps
occurring both at the level of single neurons and neuronal ensembles that perform these sound-
to-meaning transformations. Our studies will elucidate the roles of different circuits within
auditory cortex for processing semantics and voice. This knowledge will be essential to
understand how dysfunctional auditory processing in certain mental disorders affects speech
recognition and consequently other cognitive skills. Our work could also be instrumental in the
development of novel signal processing methods for auditory neural prosthetics or hearing aids.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9865631
- **Project number:** 1R01DC018321-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Frederic E. THEUNISSEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $315,106
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-01-01 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9865631

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9865631, Auditory Circuits for Interpreting Vocal Communication Signals (1R01DC018321-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9865631. Licensed CC0.

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